They're one of our pilot partners for the 2026-27 school year, and so is a growing list of schools that all made the same call at the same time: stop waiting to see what happens with AI in the classroom, and start shaping it.

Right now, AI in schools looks a lot like the wild west. Some districts ban it outright (like NYC last week) and hope that solves the problem. Others let it run in the background with no framework, no visibility, and no plan for what happens when a student leans on a chatbot instead of thinking through a problem themselves. Almost nobody is doing the harder thing, which is building real structure around how students and teachers use these tools before it becomes a crisis instead of an opportunity.

That is exactly what our pilot partners are doing, and they deserve a shoutout.

Chicago Public Schools, Joliet, Barrington 220, Lincolnshire-Prairie View District 103, Queen Bee School District 16, Distinctive Schools, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, and Holy Trinity High School are all piloting EducAIte this school year. Look at that list closely and you'll notice something: there is no single profile for who is willing to lead on this. It spans one of the largest public school systems in the country down to individual schools, suburban districts and urban charter networks, a school hundreds of miles away in St. Louis and several right in Illinois.

Big or small, public or independent, these schools all landed in the same place, ready to get ahead of AI instead of reacting to it.

Every one of these schools has educators and students who will be equipped with the right tools through EducAIte to build critical thinking skills with AI, not lose them to it.

AI can sharpen how students think, give teachers a real window into student cognition, and should never become a shortcut that quietly replaces the struggle where real learning happens. These districts and schools didn't wait for someone else to figure that out first. They stepped up to the plate and acted.

We have 2 pilot spots left for the 2026-27 school year. Two spots, for a program that just got real recognition from names like Chicago Public Schools and Ladue.

If you've been waiting for a sign to move on AI fluency and safety in your school or district, this is it.

Contact erica@educaitelearning.com, or contact us here.